Now here’s a feel good story for you.
An army veteran by the name of Matt Jabaut will be taking a trip to this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana thanks to the USAA (the Official NFL Salute to Service Partner) and The American Legion. The former military service member currently lives Lewiston, Maine… so he’s naturally a big New England Patriots fan.
So it only made sense to get Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to help out with the surprise.
Matt Jabaut served in the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2005. In his nearly a decade of service, he achieved the rank of Sergeant and also earned the Expert Field Medical Badge. Sgt. Jabaut primarily acted as a combat medic throughout career in the Army, leading treating squads and medical evacuation, as well as acting as a Retention, EEO and UPL Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) to support reenlistment activities and substance abuse prevention.
After he retired from the military in 2005 , Jabaut found a purpose in his community in human resources and remains an active member of Post 202 of The American Legion in Maine, where the veteran mentors and develops the Legion’s next generation of leaders. The town of Lewiston, Maine is also where he cheers on the New England Patriots, and when he got to meet Drake Maye (as you’ll see in the video below), he lit up like a Christmas tree.
Jabaut was told he was at the post for an interview about The American Legion, and though he did answer some questions about the organization, the real reason he was there was to be surprised with tickets to Super Bowl LIX (59). In the clip below, Drake Maye waits for his cue, and then walks out with two outrageously large Super Bowl tickets to surprise the army veteran.
The New England QB provided this statement after he was able to be a part of the special moment:
“It was awesome and a lot of fun getting to surprise Sgt. Matt Jabaut in Portland, Maine, with the news that we were sending him and his fiancé to the Super Bowl.
Knowing my grandfather served, I have so much respect and gratitude for the men and women who’ve served our country, like Staff Sgt. Jabaut.
I’m so excited to have teamed up with USAA and The American Legion to gift Matt this once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing him again in New Orleans!”
Such a cool way to give back to our country’s veterans. And I say the plural form of veterans there because USAA is apparently coordinating a similar effort with other players around the league. If there’s anyone that deserves from free tickets to the “Big Game,” it’s the men and women that served to protect the Stars and Stripes.
At the end of the video, Sgt. Matt Jabaut gives Maye a tour of the post, and the pair then played a little game of catch before the Patriots QB signed the football and gifted that to the Army veteran as well. All in all, it’s great to see the NFL, the American Legion and USAA all coming together to give back to our veterans.
Check it out:
